Jamie Cullum, Cassandra Wilson highlight Monterey Jazz

(Here is the final report from Monterey, which I’m handing over to my editors for print.)

By Jim Harrington

Christian McBride had been waiting a long time for the moment to arrive. When it finally did, the bassist couldnâ€™t hold back his enthusiasm.

â€œMonterey,â€ he exclaimed. â€œHot damn!â€

That pretty much summed up what everyone was feeling during the 51st annual Monterey Jazz Festival, which ran Friday through Sunday (Sept. 19-21) at the cityâ€™s gorgeous oak-tree-dotted fairgrounds. Many of the 40,000 fans that turned out for the event had been looking ahead to the 2008 festival basically from the moment last yearâ€™s ended.

Some probably didnâ€™t even wait that long to start anticipating. For proof, consider that people could be heard over the weekend making their plans for 2009.
That feverish loyalty, underscored by whatâ€™s said to be a 90 percent ticket renewal rate, is one of the things that has made Monterey the worldâ€™s most celebrated jazz festival. Of course, the 500-plus amazing jazz musicians featured each year also has something to do with the festivalâ€™s unqualified success.

With the international celebration of the eventâ€™s 50th anniversary still fresh in mind, Monterey embarked on its second half-century in a fashion that was anything but a letdown.

The festival opened on an East Bay note, as Berkeleyâ€™s own saxophone colossus Joshua Redman broke in the big arena stage.

â€œAs always, itâ€™s a tremendous honor to get to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival,â€ Redman told the crowd. â€œOne of the first gigs I ever had was with my high school band here. That was only a couple of years ago.â€

The 40-year-old sax man, who graduated from Berkeley High School in 1986, had his dates wrong, but everything else about his set was right on. He thrilled the audience as he directed his terrific trio, featuring bassist Matt Penman and drummer Brian Blade, through powerful selections from his latest CD, 2007â€™s â€œBack East.â€

Next up was Cassandra Wilson, who turned in what was arguably the festivalâ€™s best performance. No vocalist on the planet can touch Wilson when sheâ€™s really on, and this was one of those nights. The 52-year-old Mississippi-born singer poured herself into each number, mixing blues, jazz and folk in a dizzying, emotional fashion that spurred plenty of hoots and hollers from the crowd. It was such a fiery performance that not even a touch of rain could dampen fansâ€™ enthusiasm.

Saturday also began in the East Bay, musically speaking, as Oakland soul sensation Ledisi made her arena debut. The two-time Grammy-nominated vocalist was followed by Maceo Parker, and this former saxophonist in James Brownâ€™s band delivered an absolute clinic in funk. The dayâ€™s other highlights included the Maria Schneider Orchestra, which performed the commissioned piece â€œWillow Lake,â€ and McBride, who was making the second of his four scheduled appearances.

The big draw on Sunday afternoon was the chance to see jazz-pop entertainer Jamie Cullum, who lived up to the mountains of hype. The 29-year-old vocalist-pianist is being billed as the latest hipster entry in the â€œNext Harry Connick Jr.â€ competition. The comparison to Harry only works on one level: Cullum, like Harry before him, is doing much to help broaden jazz musicâ€™s appeal to reach younger listeners. If you need well-known names to help you file Cullum, try calling him a hybrid of Ben Folds and Michael Buble.

Anticipation was building as the festival drew to a close, since most everyone wanted to see the last two acts on the main stage: Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Would these two former members of Miles Davisâ€™ Second Great Quintet (1964-1968) give the crowd something to truly remember and collaborate on a few numbers?

Unfortunately, it didnâ€™t happen. What we received instead, however, was pretty sensational.

Shorter went on first and dished up a mind-blowing array of avant-garde jazz. Iâ€™ll be reviewing the first night of the saxophonistâ€™s stand at Yoshiâ€™s in Oakland (Sept. 30-Oct. 5), so look for a longer Shorter piece from me next week.

Hancock, still riding high on his upset victory in the Album of the Year category at the 2008 Grammy Awards, put on an extremely fan-friendly set. He had the place rocking to such favorites as Cantaloupe Island” and “Watermelon Man.” Hancock proved to be just the right person to close the fest.

The best music to these ears, however, came when I was exiting the fairgrounds on Sunday night. Thatâ€™s when a friend called out: â€œSee you next year!â€